"I Don't Blame You" is a song by the American singer-songwriter

Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist. Born in ...

, also known as Chan Marshall. It is the first song on her sixth album, ''

You Are Free ''You Are Free'' is the sixth studio album by Cat Power, the stage name and eponymous band of the American singer-songwriter Chan Marshall. It was released in 2003 on Matador Records. The album features guest appearances by Dave Grohl of Foo Fi ...

'', released in February 2003.

Origin and recording

"I Don't Blame You" was the last song written for ''You Are Free''. "I remember when I was at the piano and we were mixing and I kept playing it over and over and over while no one was there," Marshall revealed in a 2003 ''

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'' interview. "They were playing ping-pong and stuff. So I just asked, 'Can I record this song real quick?'" In the same interview, Marshall revealed that "I Don't Blame You" was her favorite song on the album because "it's the freshest in my memory." Three years later, Marshall's affection for the song had not diminished, and she cited it as her favorite song to perform live, in an interview with ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

''. In an interview with ''Helter Skelter'', Marshall revealed that she wanted "I Don't Blame You" to be a single. However, no single was released for the song, and a music video was never made. A live version of the song, performed by Marshall on electric guitar in a forest in New York, appears on the 2004 Cat Power DVD, '' Speaking for Trees: A Film by Mark Borthwick''.

Composition and lyrics

The song tells the story of a rock star who is destroyed by fame. For years, Marshall refused to comment on the commonly held theory that it was written about

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...

, the late singer, songwriter and guitarist of the American rock band

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

, who committed suicide in 1994. When asked who the song was about in an interview with ''Helter Skelter'', she replied, "You'll have to take a guess." When asked specifically if it was about Cobain, she replied, "It could be anybody!" In a 2012 interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', however, Marshall confirmed that the song was about Cobain. "I've never told anybody this," she told interviewer Hermione Hoby, "but that is about Kurt Cobain. It's about him blowing his head off." Years before confirming it was about Cobain, Marshall offered a less specific explanation of the song's meaning. "I'll never tell you what that song is about," she told ''Salon'' in 2006. "That feeling of not being understood, but supposedly being understood by everyone ... being inside of a spectacle, it's like being a prisoner of war. I don't know if that makes sense. It would be like being in an insane asylum, where you are who you are, and the only person you've ever been is yourself, but then they want you to be someone else."

Reception

"I Don't Blame You" was ranked # 159 on '' Pitchfork's'' "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s" in 2009.

References

{{authority control 2003 songs Cat Power songs Songs about musicians Songs written by Cat Power